A father has opened up about the harrowing moment his daughter’s hand slipped from his moments before she was hit by a vehicle on their way to church.
The slow-moving vehicle struck the 11-year-old girl while she was crossing the road with her family on Appleby Road, Stafford Heights north of Brisbane on Sunday morning.
The horrifying incident unfolded outside Stafford Heights Baptist Church, where the family were about to attend the weekly sermon.
The girl was treated at the scene for facial injuries before she was rushed to the Queensland Children’s Hospital in a stable condition.
‘My daughter left my hands and the car has hit her. I don’t know what happened,’ T Sui Dun told the Courier Mail.
‘She is in the hospital now, she is alright, her right jaw has scars and grazes.’
The accident unfolded in front of churchgoers, including Pastor Cungbik Kingbawl.
‘They were crossing the road here, I came there, and I saw the driver,’ he said in reference to a pedestrian island in the middle of the road,’ the pastor told the publication.
He added the church would be praying for the family in the wake of the accident.
The church hosts masses for ‘congregations of the Chin people from Myanmar,’ on Sundays, according to its website.
It’s believed the driver of the vehicle remained at the scene for a short period of time, but left before emergency services arrived.
The driver left their phone number with witnesses at the scene.
Queensland Police has launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.